


And We're Live

by GrenadeFestival



Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: Alex knows this but he's a dick anyway, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Bickering, Comedy, Gen, Haunted Houses, Jay does not know what the fuck is going on, News Station AU, TV Station AU, Take Your Fandom to Work Day, Tim and Jessica are this close to strangling Alex with the microphone cable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 00:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9296678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrenadeFestival/pseuds/GrenadeFestival
Summary: After losing their reporter for the day, the crew has to figure out how the heck they're going to do an all important live segment. Alex takes matters into his own hands, and Jay gets dragged along for the ride. Live news can be a surprisingly forgiving industry as long as you know how to BS your way through it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So like, I WANTED to participate in Take Your Fandom To Work Day last year, but it never happened because I didn't finish this thing in time. But I still have this story, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let it sit around forever collecting dust. 
> 
> I do work at my local news station, so most things are accurate (as far as how we do them anyway.) I'm not a photog, so anything related to how live segments are set up in the field is kind of iffy, but as for the stuff that happens in the station itself...that is exactly how it is. It's an anxious person's nightmare (unless you know what you're doing, then you're used to it.)

 

“You’re kidding me.” 

Jay freezes as he steps into the station lobby. He can’t see where Alex is, so he doesn’t know who Alex is talking to, but he knows that tone. Someone’s in trouble, which means all of them are about to be in trouble. 

_ Dammit.  _

“We don’t have anyone else to report! Everyone else is out!” he continues. 

Jay hovers, eyeing the hallway that leads to the conference room. There he can hole up and avoid Alex until the show starts, but this is also the same hallway that leads right past the production booth where Alex most certainly is. Jay grimaces. 

“We’re going to have to kill the live segment,” a new voice chimes in. 

_ Oh thank God Jessica is here today.  _

“What? No!” Alex replies, “We don’t have anything else scheduled for the B block. We literally don’t have any other stories to run!” 

“I know, ok, but listen-.” 

“What was Ted’s excuse this time, huh? Honestly some days I feel like I could just…’accidentally’ push him off a roof and -.” 

“Alex! He got  _ in a car accident! _ ” 

“Well...I…” he stammers, though his guilty fumbling only lasts a second, “That still doesn’t fix our problem!” 

“Well I don’t know what to tell you. We can’t just send you out there by yourself. It just wouldn’t work. We need to find something to fill time.” 

“Jessica, I told you, we don’t  _ have _ anything else.” 

“Fine then! What would  _ you _ suggest?” 

Jay pokes his head into the production booth. 

“Um, is everything alright?” he asks. 

Alex looks positively livid. When he turns his head towards Jay, the overhead lights catch his glasses, briefly blinding Jay with a flash of light. It’s fitting considering he’s already blinded by fear. Jessica is standing further back in the booth, arms crossed, giving Alex a glare that would burn him to ash in a second if she didn’t need him to do his job today. Both of their expressions soften just a tiny bit when they see Jay standing there, but whereas Jessica’s expression is kind and reassuring, there’s something in Alex’s eyes that manages to unsettle Jay to his very core. An accomplishment, considering Jay is two seconds away from diving through the studio door and hiding under the anchor’s desk. 

“I have an idea,” Alex says. 

_ Oh no.  _

“I’ll do the reporting, and I’ll take Jay to run the camera.” 

“Wait, hold on I-.” 

“Alex, you’re not a reporter!” Jessica says. 

“Yeah and Jay’s not a photog, but our options are kind of limited, if you couldn’t tell,” Alex says. 

“I need him to run the prompter!” Jessica says. 

“Yeah, Alex come on, that’s not my job. All I know how to do is scroll! I can’t run a camera!” 

“Oh come on, it’s not that hard. You can run a normal camera, right?” Alex asks, “You took photography in college.”

Jay huffs. 

“Well yeah, but those cameras don’t have thirty different buttons on them.” 

“I’ll walk you through it. It’ll be fine. I’ve got Ted’s scripts. It’s not going to be hard to improvise.” 

“Alex, hang on. What about production? If Jay goes with you, then the only people here are going to be me, Tim, and Seth!” Jessica says, “I’ll have to direct and do server, and if we don’t want Tim running back and forth from prompter to audio, we’re going to have to take Seth out of the studio, so no one is going to be physically there to cue the talent. And don’t tell me to ask Art to run the camera because you and I both know he doesn’t come out of master control for anything.” 

“You don’t  _ have _ to take Seth off camera. Just have Tim leave the mics open,” Alex says. 

Jessica doesn’t say anything. She just stares at him, her eyes imploring him to remember the last time they did that. For once, Alex yields. 

“Right, never mind. Look I know it’s going to be tight, but we literally don't have any other options here. We have to do the live shot, otherwise we’ll have to fill time with Brian and Sarah just talking about nothing,” Alex says, “They can run a blue streak, I know, but even they can’t fill four minutes.”

Jay stands in stunned silence as Jessica ponders her coworker’s argument. He prays that she'll veto the idea, but as her angry glare softens to acceptance he realizes that Alex is right. There really is nothing else they can do.

“Alright get going,” she sighs, “Call me when you get there.”

Alex gives her a smug look, but she's already turned her attention to the graphics computer. They aren't her responsibility anymore. 

“Come on Jay, let's go,” he says. 

“Right…” Jay says. He puts his hands in his pockets and follows Alex out of the booth. 

As they pass through the lobby, Jay spots Brian coming down the hall from the newsroom. He catches the anchor’s eye for a second, sending him a silent plea for help. Brian raises an eyebrow and stops in the lobby. 

“Hey, where are you guys off to?”

“Oh Jay is just helping me with the live segment,” Alex says, picking up the camera bag sitting by the door. 

Brian puts his hands in the pockets of his jeans, which look startlingly out of place mixed with his suit jacket and yellow tie. He looks at Jay again and then back at Alex. 

“Is Ted not here?”

“He got in a car accident this afternoon.”

“Shit, are you serious? Hope he's ok.”

“I don't know the details.”

Brian nods and pauses a moment. 

“Wait, are you reporting then?”

“Yep.”

“Do you want to borrow a jacket from me or something? It's probably nicer than whatever you have.”

“Um...yeah, actually. Thanks.”

“No problem, man. Hang on a sec.”

“Uh, I'll go with you!” Jay says. Alex opens his mouth to say something but Jay doesn't give him a chance. 

“We’re gonna need a tripod anyway, right? I'll just go ahead and grab that,” he continues. 

Before Alex can object, Jay starts following Brian down the hall towards the newsroom. Jay glances back over his shoulder to make sure they're out of earshot before looking back at Brian. 

“Brian, you need to help me.”

Brian laughs. 

“How'd you get roped into doing this? Seth’s the photog” he says. 

“Probably because they'd kill each other in the middle of the segment,” Jay mutters. 

Brian laughs. 

“Fair enough,” he says, “Don’t worry, man, it’s not that hard. You know how to cue him and all that, right? You’ve seen Seth do it enough times.”

“Well, yeah, I guess, but…” 

“Then Alex can help you set up everything else. You really just need to make sure the camera doesn’t fall over. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” 

“If you say so.”

* * *

 

 

“So, what exactly are we doing a live shot for?” Jay asks. 

“Oh, it’s just a thing we’re doing about Fort Fear’s reopening,” Alex replies, turning onto the highway. 

“Sorry, what?” 

“Right, I forgot you haven’t lived here that long. Fort Fear is this haunted house that used to open up every Halloween, but a few years ago their old location burned down and this year they’re finally done moving into their new place, so they’re opening up again for like an extended run in October. It’s kind of a big deal. I mean, they’re not the only haunted house in the area, but they’ve got the reputation for being the best, and they donate a lot of their profits to charity, so we’re doing a story about it. They’ve got an event planned as sort of a promotional thing, just to tell everyone they’re back.” 

“Huh.” 

Jay pauses a moment and looks out the window. 

“So, uh, are we actually going to...I don’t know, like go inside or something?” 

Alex smirks.

“Why, do you not like haunted houses or something?” 

“Well, no, I just...I don’t know, the lighting might not be very good if we go inside.” 

Jay doesn’t like the way Alex is smiling at him. 

“You’re scared of haunted houses,” Alex says. 

“Come on, I am not.” 

“You are the worst liar, Jay, you know that right?” 

Jay sighs. 

“Whatever, just forget about it.” 

“Come on, it’s not going to be that bad. They don’t open for another week. They’re not going to be fully set up. It probably won’t even be dark inside. The event today is just to show off their new place.” 

“If you say so.” 

They turn off the highway and go down a series of back roads until they reach the county fairgrounds. Without any rides or people, the place looks like it belongs to another dimension. It’s all just bare asphalt and dying grass, surrounded by a chainlink fence that never has and never will keep bored teenagers out. The small stadium and cluster of event buildings near the back aren’t much better. Each one is silent and dark and devoid of activity. The whole place gives Jay the creeps. 

As they turn around the stadium, the atmosphere changes completely. Cars are parked anywhere they can fit, and bright orange and black banners plaster the trees and stick out of the ground. Each advertises Fort Fear’s reopening for the entire month of October. Further up he spots a crowd around a wide, white building. A small concessions table is set up, offering lemonade and store-brand cookies to guests. People trickle in and out of the building, guided by people in orange shirts that say “staff” on the back. 

Alex turns away from the crowd and parks behind the building. 

“Are any other stations covering this?” Jay asks as he gets out. 

“I’m not sure. I don’t see any other cars,” Alex replies. 

He gets out his cellphone to call Jessica. Jay leans in to listen. 

“Hey, we’re here,” Alex says when she picks up. 

“Good. Do you know where you’re getting your shot?” Jessica asks, her voice distorted slightly by the poor cell service. 

“Uh, no not yet. We still need to find the manager and touch base.” 

“Try to get inside if you can. That’s what people really want to see.” 

“Alright.” 

“Don’t forget, you’re interviewing the owner and one other person there who would be willing to talk to us.” 

“I won’t, Jessica. It’s fine.” 

“Alright. Call me back once you’ve got the connection set up. Is Jay there?” 

“Yeah, I’m here,” Jay says. 

“Ok. I or someone else will help you get that shot set up once Alex helps you set up the camera. Now get moving, show starts in an hour. Bye.” 

“Bye,” Alex says. 

He hangs up. 

“Alright, I’m going to go find the manager. In the meantime, see if you can find someone just out in the crowd that might be willing to do an interview with us,” he says. 

“Um, Alex, are you sure I should be the one-.” 

“It doesn’t matter who you grab, just find someone chatty who can fill time.” 

Before Jay has time to protest, Alex is already heading for the back door, leaving him alone with the car. Jay sighs in frustration. Alex’s no-nonsense way of moving from one task to the next with little ceremony is useful when he directs the shows, but right now it’s just pissing Jay off. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and heads around to the front of the building, trying not to look as awkward and angry as he feels. 

No one notices him as he edges towards the crowd outside. Most people have their backs to him, wrapped up in their own conversations. He’s surprised by the age range he sees. There are some teenagers hanging around, but most people there look about his age. Many look older. 

_ God, who might actually be willing to talk to me?  _

He takes a breath and walks into the crowd, looking for loners who don’t look too intimidating. Those people prove to be rare commodities, as no one has come here without a friend. He groans internally as he realizes he’s going to have to approach a group. 

_ Just two people. I can handle two people.  _

He spots a couple near the refreshments table, talking to each other. They seem about his age, which gives him a small confidence boost. He takes a breath and tries to stand up a little straighter as he approaches them. 

“Um, hey,” he says, “I was just wondering, um, if you’d…”

He doesn’t like how they’re looking at him. The man opens his mouth to say something, but Jay cuts him off, realizing he hasn’t explained himself at all and that he’s acting like a total weirdo. 

_ Again.  _

“I’m with WKDA. The news station,” he says. 

A chorus of ‘ah ok’s from the couple. 

“We’re doing a story about the reopening, and I was wondering if maybe you’d be ok with being interviewed?” Jay asks. 

“Um, well, how long would that take?” the woman asks. 

Jay looks down at his watch. 

“We’re going on in about forty-five minutes, so…” he says. 

“I don’t think we have time for that,” she says, “We’ve already been inside and everything.” 

“Sorry man,” the man says. 

“No, no, it’s ok, I just thought I’d ask,” Jay says. 

“Ok, well, good luck!” the woman says. 

Jay sighs as the couple starts walking. 

_ This is going to take forever.  _

“Jay!” 

He turns around, trying to pinpoint where the voice came from. For a moment he thinks he’s hearing things before he spots a young blonde woman leave the crowd to join him. 

“Amy?” he says, “Um, hey, what are you doing here?” 

As usual, Amy is positively glowing. Her eyes sparkle with that mischievous confidence she wears so well, and when she smiles at him he feels almost at ease despite everything. Every time he meets her, he catches himself wondering what a girl like her sees in a guy like Alex. He can’t comment though. He hasn’t dated enough people, period, let alone enough girls to know what they like in a man, and Amy is certainly the kind of girl who can put up with Alex’s moods. 

“I should be asking you that,” Amy says, tapping a brightly painted nail against the plastic cup in her hand, “I never thought I’d catch you coming alone to something like this.” 

“I’m here for work, actually,” he says. 

“Oh!” she says, “Ok. But I thought you never came out on stuff like this. That’s Alex’s thing, right?” 

“He’s here too, actually. A reporter called in sick, so we’re all we’ve got.” 

Amy immediately perks up at the mention of her boyfriend. 

“Really? Where is he?” 

“Ugh, I don’t know. I’m supposed to be looking for someone to interview. He might be inside.” 

As if summoned by the mere mention of his name, Jay hears Alex’s voice behind him. He turns around as his colleague comes out of the building. If he was originally talking to Jay, he isn’t anymore when he spots Amy standing there. Suddenly it’s like Jay doesn’t even exist as he walks past him and smiles at Amy. 

“Amy, I didn’t know you were going to be here,” he says, immediately taking her free hand in his. 

She smiles at him and laughs. 

“I told you I was going to this with some friends! Why didn’t you tell me you were working today?” 

“I must have gotten distracted,” he says. 

“Oh stop it,” Amy giggles as he gives her a peck on the cheek. 

Jay rolls his eyes. 

_ Ew.  _

“Hey, do you have some time to stick around?” Alex asks, “We need someone to do an interview.” 

“Who with? It’s not that one guy with the beard, is it?” 

“Actually, it’s me today. We had a bit of an emergency.” 

“Oh, well then I might be tempted.” 

“Um, Alex, is there anything I should be doing?” Jay interrupts, looking for any excuse to leave before he pukes. 

“Yeah, do you think you can get the shot set up inside? I’ve already got the tripod set up, so you’ll just need to take care of the mic. You can figure that out, right?” 

“Well, uh, I guess,” Jay says. 

Alex barely replies, and Jay takes his silence as his cue to leave. He turns and walks through the door into Fort Fear. 

He realizes immediately that Alex was wrong about it not even being dark inside. All the lights are out, with only a few black lights along the walls to light the way. Jay’s stomach feels like it’s filling up with static as he walks down the empty corridor. 

_ This is probably just for the tour, what are you so afraid of?  _

He pauses as an awful thought occurs to him. 

_ Unless this isn’t the only thing they have running for the tour groups.  _

He listens for any screaming as he rounds a corner, but he doesn’t hear anything. He doesn’t even hear any voices. Shouldn’t he be hearing voices? Where even is the place they’re doing their shot? Did Alex say? He groans quietly. He didn’t. Of course he didn’t. 

_ Hiss.  _

Jay sucks in breath and spins around at the sharp sound behind him. His arms are half way up to cover his face before he realizes that it’s just a fog machine hidden in the wall, shooting another jet of foul smelling mist into the air. That realization does not bring down his considerable heart rate, though, and it takes all his willpower and the image of Jessica impaling him with the tripod to keep going down the hallway. 

The first room he reaches is empty. No actors, no props. Not even any fake blood on the walls or anything. He takes a few calming breaths and picks up his pace. Maybe that’s how all the rooms are. Maybe Alex was right about them not really being set up yet. He goes down the next hallway and into the next room. This room has some fake gravestones piled up in a corner along with a big fake tree, but beyond that this room is also bare. 

“And still no sign of the camera,” he mutters. 

Another fog machine hisses, but it doesn’t scare him this time. He feels like an idiot for freaking out earlier, but at least no one was around to see it. He walks into the next hallway and around the corner. 

Somewhere in his subconscious he’s sure he heard the footsteps or saw the shadow in the blacklights. He’s sure his brain could have given him more warning, but it chooses instead to sabotage him yet again as he turns the corner and comes face to face with an impossibly tall, faceless man in a suit. He scrambles backwards, too startled to even scream, as his heart starts pounding again and his blood pressure shoots through the roof. He feels like he should run, but he’s frozen to the spot. The monster swears loudly and jumps back before realizing it’s just some random guy wandering through the building. 

“Oh my god,” it says, mostly to itself before realizing just how freaked out Jay is, “I...oh dude, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even hear you. You alright there?” 

It laughs nervously. Hearing a human voice coming from the blank void of a face does little to calm Jay’s nerves, but at least he knows nothing is going to try and eat him. He takes a breath and tries to laugh along with this random stranger, but it feels forced. 

_ Alex, I swear to God if I don’t die of a heart attack today, I will kill you.  _

“Yeah, yeah, uh,” Jay stops and clears his throat, “you just startled me.” 

The monster laughs. 

“Dude, you looked like you were going to pass out. What the hell are you doing in here? You get separated from a tour group or something?”

“No, actually, I’m with the news. Um, my coworker sent me to finish setting up but…”

“Oh! Yeah yeah yeah, I saw the boss talking to some guy a few minutes ago. They’re setting up in the backstage area. There’s a door back that way.” 

“Back? Like...how far back?” 

“It’s pretty close to the entrance. Here, I’ll show you.” 

The monster walks past him. Jay jumps a little as something brushes up against his arm. The monster laughs. 

“Oh, sorry, watch the arms. I have zero control over these things.” 

Jay tries again to laugh it off. 

_ Fuck you, Alex.  _

Sure enough, the door is in a niche directly off the entrance, hidden by black paint and a plywood screen. The monster apologizes again for scaring him and sends him on his way before skulking off to wherever he was headed before. Jay thanks him and steps through the door, mentally rehearsing how he’s going to explain the delay to Jessica. As he steps into the significantly better lit backstage area, his phone starts to buzz. 

“Hey, Jessica, sorry about-.” 

“Please tell me you’re set up or at least close. We’ve got half an hour to show and I’m not even getting a picture from you.” 

“Um, about that. Have you talked to Alex?” 

“He told me to call you.” 

“Well, I got kind of lost in the building and I’m only just now getting to the camera,” he says as he spots the place Alex was setting up at. The camera is pointed at a back wall containing a variety of props and masks. A worker stands off to the side, talking to a man in a gray suit who Jay assumes is the owner. 

“Oh my god,” Jessica mutters, “Ok, is it set up at least? Can you turn it on?” 

“Yeah, just give me a sec.” 

 

It’s painful listening to this conversation. Jay is so utterly clueless about how to set the camera up, and Jessica can only do so much to help him through it. At least Alex set the most complicated things up first before completely abandoning the kid to do who knows what. That’ll save them a little time at least. Tim looks up at the clock in the production booth. Twenty minutes with no picture is cutting it way too close for a live segment. They should have been set up twenty minutes ago, delays timed, mics checked, and they’re only now just setting up the shot. 

“Should I go tell Brian he should be prepared to adlib the whole B block?” Tim asks. 

Jessica waves her hand towards him in a shushing motion. 

“Ok, try it now,” she says. 

Tim looks at the large monitor over the director’s board where all the video feeds coming into the station are displayed. The two channels for live shots remain blank for a second before one flickers to life. The shot is blurry and dark, and Tim isn’t sure what it’s supposed to be of exactly, but it’s a picture and that’s what matters most at this point. Jessica lets out a sigh of relief. 

“Ok, yes, we have a picture now,” she says, “Can you figure out how to turn the light on? Your shot’s kind of dark.” 

“Hang on,” says Jay through the phone, his voice muffled and tinny. 

The camera jerks a bit, no doubt from Jay fumbling around looking for the right button, but after a few seconds a harsh white light illuminates the still blurry background. 

“Awesome. Don’t bother trying to focus it or anything until we get people actually in the shot. Is Alex back yet?” 

“Um…” Jay pauses, “Yeah, he just walked through the door.” 

“Tell him to get off his ass and help you set up the mic, or I swear to god I’m going to come down there and rip his throat out myself,” Jessica says. 

“Can I help?” Tim asks. 

Jay’s voice is muffled as he talks to Alex. A figure passes in front of the camera, though they’re too blurry to tell who it is. Alex says something inaudible, and the sound of the phone shifting hands crackles through the speaker. 

“The mic should be good,” Alex says, “You want me to check it?”

“Are you on pack B?” Jessica asks. 

“Should be, yeah.” 

“Tim, open up the mic.” 

“B1 or B2?” Tim asks, taking his feet down off another chair in the booth. 

“Just open them both.” 

The buttons click and begin to glow a soft orange as Tim opens the channels. He raises the volume, but no sound comes through. He glances as Jessica and sets his mouth into a worried frown. Just then Sarah sticks her head into the booth. 

“Jessica? Do you have a second? If this live thing doesn’t work out, I have something we might be able to fill time with,” she says. 

“Oh great,” Jessica says, “Alex, we’re not getting any audio from you. I’m going to pass you over to Tim, and you two try to figure this out.” 

Jessica hands her phone to Tim and disappears before he can object. He sighs and sets the phone down on the shelf above the audio board. 

“I’ve got both channels open. Are you sure it’s pack B?” he asks. 

“I don’t know what other pack it could be. That’s the only one we use.” 

Tim opens up the other field mics, but again no sound comes through. 

_ At least we can rule out Alex being completely stupid.  _

“You checked the connections, right?” Tim asks. 

“Obviously that was the first thing I did,” Alex says, “How many minutes to show?” 

Tim looks at the clock. 

“Ten,” he says. 

“Jesus Christ,” Alex mutters. 

“Yeah, I know, so can we figure out what’s wrong with the mic, please? Are the batteries dead?” 

“I don’t know. Look, I’m going to let you and Jay handle this. I need to tell the owner we’re having technical problems.” 

“Yeah, and who’s fucking fault is that?” Tim spits, though he’s not sure Alex hears him before he passes the phone on again. There’s a soft knock on the production booth door as Brian sticks his head in. 

“You alright in here, man?” he asks. 

“I will be once Alex gets his shit together,” Tim mutters. 

“Uh, hey Tim,” Jay says, “Still not getting anything?” 

Brian gives Tim an encouraging thumbs up before disappearing into the studio. Tim turns his attention back to the audio board. 

“Look in the camera bag. There should be extra batteries for the mic pack. Change those out and let’s see if we get anything,” he says. 

“Ok.”

There’s a moment of silence as Jay looks for the batteries. 

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” Tim says. 

There’s a beat before Jay picks the phone back up again. 

“Found the batteries. Did you say something?” he asks. 

“I said I’m sorry you got dragged into this.” 

“Yeah, I can’t say I’m too thrilled about it. I have no idea what I’m doing, and Alex isn’t any help.” 

Tim scoffs. 

“No kidding. I don’t know what his deal is today. He’s usually not like this. You’ve worked nights where he’s directing, right?”

“Yeah. He’s usually not this...I don’t know, pissy.” 

“No, I guarentee you he’s always this pissy, he just does a better job hiding it most of the time.”

Jay laughs. He’s quiet for another moment. Tim hears some rustling on his end before he comes back. 

“Ok, I changed the batteries. You getting anything?” 

“Say something into the mic and I’ll tell you,” Tim says. 

“Uh...something.” 

There’s a moment of dead air. Tim holds his breath, praying that it’s just the delay messing with them. Three seconds later, the single word comes through loud and clear over the speakers in the booth. Tim lets out a long breath. 

“Oh thank god.” 

“Did it work?” 

“Did it work?” the speakers repeat. 

“Yeah, it was the batteries.” 

Jay laughs nervously. Tim hears footsteps down the hall, and Jessica comes back into the booth. 

“Please tell me it’s working,” she says.

The intercom from master control crackles to life. 

“Five minutes,” says Art, his voice distorted by the terrible connection management will likely never fix. 

“Yeah, I’ve got him. Batteries in the pack were dead,” Tim says, “Jay, I’m going to pass you back to Jessica. Give Alex a good whack for me when this is all done.” 

“Thanks Tim,” Jay says. 

Jessica takes the phone back. 

“Jay, can you figure out how to focus the shot?” 

“Yeah, I think I can do that much.” 

“Ok, great. Show’s going to start soon. Just hang in there for a few more minutes. I’ll tell you when the A block is over,” she says. She sets the phone down and hits a button on the console, “Brian are you good in there? IFB is working?” 

Brian gives the camera a thumb’s up. Jessica looks at Tim. 

“Open up his mic.” 

_ Click.  _

“So is everything still on fire in there? What’s going on?” Brian asks. 

“I think we just might  be able to pull this off,” Jessica says, “I’m going to have to cue you through the IFB, though. I need Seth in here to run the prompter.” 

Tim thinks he hears Seth say “wait what?” through Brian’s mic. He stifles a bitter laugh. 

“That’s fine, dude. We’ll make it work,” Brian says. 

Sarah passes by the production booth and walks into the studio. She sits behind the desk and starts threading her mic through her dress, just in time. 

“One minute,” says Art. 

“Someone should really get the intercom fixed,” Tim says, “Every time he talks, I feel like I’m listening to our next robot overlord.” 

“Well maybe he is,” Jessica says. 

“I heard that,” Art says. 

“Tim, can you check Sarah’s mic, please?” Jessica asks. 

Tim opens up Sarah’s mic. 

“-the mic, one two, checking the mic,” Sarah says before Tim cuts her off by closing the channel again. 

Tim looks up at the monitors again. Alex and Fort Fear’s owner have wandered on screen, and Jay has managed to set up a decent shot. The lighting is terrible in whatever dimly lit room they’re in, and Tim swears one of the masks in the background is staring at him, but it’s better than having no sound or picture at all. He leans back in his chair and taps his fingers against the audio board. Seth walks into the production booth and sits down at the prompter. He doesn’t ask what the hell is going on, which is probably for the best. 

“Fifteen,” Art says. 

“Tim, you got your music ready?” Jessica asks. 

“Yep,” Tim says. 

“Sound full on channel one for the open,” Jessica says. 

“Standby,” Art says, “Opens in five, four-” 

“-three, two, one,” Jessica chimes in, “Cue Brian and Sarah.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I think I'm better at writing angst, honestly, but I hope you enjoyed this anyway and maybe learned some things you didn't know before. Or at least found these nerds griping at each other amusing. 
> 
> I probably used a lot of jargon in this without defining what any of those words actually mean (because who wants to gunk up the flow of the story with info dumps, not me) so if you want to know more you can ask me about it in the comments or send me an ask on my tumblr (grenadefestival.tumblr.com) and I'll be happy to enlighten you.


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